Vikings vs. Bears: Five Key Players to Watch

Published Oct 9, 2017 at 12:35 PM

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The Chicago Bears are looking to right the ship on Monday when they resume their season against the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field.

The Bears will have a new quarterback under center for the game, as Mitchell Trubisky makes his NFL debut, but there are plenty of other players that will need to step up to make sure that the team gets its second victory of the season.

Congratulations, Bears fans! You have as many interceptions as the team’s secondary does this season! The team will look to change that on Monday when they go up against some extremely talented Vikings wide receivers, and Amukamara is going to play a critical role in that mix.

Amukamara has three tackles and two defended passes so far this season, and he and Marcus Cooper Sr. will be looking to keep Sam Bradford off balance with some quality coverage on the outer part of the field.

Zach Miller

While Kendall Wright and Tarik Cohen will both be important passing options for Trubisky on Monday, Miller is a guy that could get some serious looks as well. An athletic and talented pass catcher, Miller could easily become a favorite target of the rookie, as he’ll be able to get open on underneath routes should Trubisky have to roll out of the pocket against a skilled Minnesota defense.

John Timu

With Danny Trevathan suspended for a game and Jerrell Freeman out for the season, Timu will become the de facto leader in the middle for the Bears’ defense on Monday night. He’ll have the headset in his helmet, making him a key factor as he yells out assignments and gets the defense set against the Minnesota passing attack.

The Bears have consistently had problems in snapping the football this season, and Whitehair has got to find a consistent release point on those snaps. With Trubisky in the game, the Bears will likely run quite a few looks out of the shotgun, and if Whitehair can’t get him the ball consistently, then the Bears could be looking at a long night on the offensive side of things.

Kendall Wright

Wright has narrowly overtaken Cohen as the leading receiver on the team, and he’ll be looking to make a big statement now that he has the big-armed Trubisky taking the reins. Look for Wright to use his speed out of the slot and to potentially be used as an over the top threat as Dowell Loggains will likely expand his playbook a bit to take advantage of his rookie QB’s skillset.